James Fenimore Cooper's The Last Of The Mohicans

994 Words4 Pages

James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans which was published in 1826 was one of the most famous American early readings of all time, depicting the battle of the British and the French, best-known as the French and Indian War, with more dramatic actions, of course. The massacre at Fort William Henry was one of many contentious events in the said war. Survivors of the massacre believed their people lost around 1500 lives, when further studies showed that the number did not exceed 185. Without being said, the ruthless killings that took place in the upstate New York still happened, witnessing the fight between the British and French armies over the area of Lake George, Lake Champlain, and reach of the Hudson River. (Starbuck, 1999) (Starbuck, 2008) Ironically, misunderstandings and betrayals were counted as the reasons the massacre occurred. Even before the massacre, the British and the French have their long history record in America. The French had claimed North America and from Mexico to the Gulf, while the British were all over the Atlantic seaboard, starting from Maine to Georgia. The British soon were expanding further to areas owned by the French. Lake George and Lake Champlain were the two places they fought over. The first clash between the …show more content…

They broke into the hospital, inhumanly scalping the sick English on beds. Some of them even dug out the fort’s new cemetery and scalped the corpses. Monroe and his officers were held as prisoners in a French camp, while his people were taken in captive to Canada where some of them were sold as slavery, some entered and adopted Indian tribes, and some were allowed to return home after the Indians receive the ransom. Realizing that his reputation was flawed for failing to provide protection for the British, Montcalm burned the Fort of William Henry and they returned to Fort Carillon. (Starbuck,

Open Document